water technologies, treatment infrastructure and networks

WATER TECHNOLOGIES, TREATMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

AND NETWORKS

CO

NT

EN

TS 04

01 INTRODUCTION

14

02VEOLIA SERVING RESIDENTS AND THE PLANET

28

03VEOLIA SERVING INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS

38

04INVENTING TOMORROW: CENTRAL TO EVERY VEOLIA INNOVATION

46

05IMPACTFUL SOLUTION: MUNICIPAL SEWAGE SLUDGE

56

06IMPACTFUL SOLUTION: THE BARREL

32

01INTRODUCTION

54

HUM A NIT Y H AS NE V ER FACED AS MAN Y CHALLENGES

AS IT DOES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

We live on a planet we have not cared for properly.

A nd now we are paying the price. While

the extreme weather events battering

every continent are the most visible scars,

other seemingly equally fearsome challenges need

tackling during the coming two decades. With the

clock now running on the climate emergency, water

technologies, treatment infrastructure and networks

play an essential role in terms of public health, social

justice, food supplies, the fight against pollution,

regional resilience and the preservation of resources.

76

01 Introduction

In strictly practical terms, in 20 years’

time there will be nine billion people

on earth, all of them needing homes

and food; the rise of the global middle

class and digital technologies will

increase energy demand by 30%;

rampant urban spread will swallow

farmlands that are already

heavily degraded; proximity

between untamed natural

environments and urban

spaces will increase the

risk of new viruses being

transmitted to humans;

rising temperatures and

pollution will make life ever harder in

megacities where population densities

will continue to increase; resource

scarcity, foremost of all freshwater,

“blue gold”, will be the cause of major

conflicts between users, destabilizing

entire regions across the planet, and so

on. These are just a few of the planetary

challenges that Veolia seeks to help

resolve.

Tackling these challenges is critical:

they have shown us that

our lifestyles are under

threat and that we need

to change them right now,

humanity cannot go on

living in the same way.

There is no turning back.

Our world is different now,

and we must adapt. Unless we act

immediately, circumstances that seem

exceptional today will become the norm

tomorrow. We have to take stock and

act collectively.

In 20 years’ time

there will be nine billion

people on earth.

The rise of the global middle-class and digital technologies

will increase energy demand by 30%.

98

01 Introduction

01 Introduction

BECAUSE ALTERNATIVE

SOLUTIONS EXIST

Veolia’s resolute commitment to ecological transformation means that it can respond to the highly complex equations

shaping tomorrow’s world.

V eolia has adapted its business activities so it can better support its stakeholders in their own transformations. Veolia believes in joining

forces, because nobody can tackle all these challenges alone, while also preserving natural resources and combating the climate emergency.

In these unsettled times, the water technologies, treatment infrastructure and networks business line is central to the vital ecological transformation needed to decarbonize our lifestyles.

The following pages show how it actively contributes to the vital ecological transition needed to build a more sustainable world, and how it leverages innovations to roll out new solutions for tomorrow.

1110

Director, Water Technologies, Treatment Infrastructure and Networks

GEOF F ROY C A R L I E R

We work for the benefit of all our stakeholders, offering them effective solutions for

combatting new forms of water pollution, for energy recovery, particularly from sewage

sludges, and for recycling wastewater. By developing new technologies in fields such as

seawater desalination and treating micropollutants, we tailor our offers to match our customers’ needs

and emerging environmental problems. Water is a vital resource we cannot live without.

It has to be protected and preserved.

1312

02VEOLIA SERVING RESIDENTS AND THE PLANET

I n terms of water technologies, treatment infrastructure and networks, Veolia

trials alternative solutions and rolls out innovative procedures on behalf of

its municipal and industrial customers. These solutions and procedures are

designed to protect biodiversity and the environment by reducing the impact of

human activities, to use regeneration (recycling water and metals) to preserve

increasingly rare resources, combat harmful pollution (plastics, micropollutants),

and recover the sludge produced so that energy use is minimized and greenhouse

gas emissions limited.

1514

W ater pollution is a perfect illustration of

the new challenges Veolia can tackle.

With treatments for mass pollutants now

perfected, today’s challenges center on new forms of

pollution linked to micropollutants and microplastics.

Micropollutants are dispersed toxins present in water

in small quantities: pesticides and herbicides from

agriculture, toxic products used in daily life (household

products, solvents, plasticizers, medicines, etc.).

Of all these residues, the presence of traces of

medicines in water is certain to increase in the years

ahead, driven by longer lifespans and improved access

to healthcare. Veolia is testing new technologies

that are more efficient and cheaper for treating

pharmaceutical residues in wastewater.

COMBATTING NE W FOR MS

OF WATER POLLU TION

In Aarhus, DenmarkVeolia eliminated up to 90% of medical residues in municipal wastewater. To take these treatments to the next level, existing technologies will shift

to using membrane bioreactors that offer even greater efficiency.

16 17

02 Veolia serving residents and the planet

In North AmericaVeolia has trialed the use of powdered activated carbon to adsorb

(adhere to the surface) of these substances. 80% of PFOA was successfully eliminated from contaminated well water and Veolia is continuing to research ways to reduce

concentrations in drinking water. Sludge produced during these treatment processes is itself contaminated and work is under way to identify the optimum incineration

conditions for destroying PFOA.

Perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) are also

major dangers if their presence in water is ignored,

the most closely monitored being perfluorooctanoic

acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

Manufactured since the 1940s, these chemicals

are used by many industries in textiles, household

appliances, vehicles, construction, electronics, etc.

The problem is that these forever chemicals are

extremely persistent and highly damaging to the

environment, contaminating water, soil and foods.

They also accumulate in the body and lead to serious

health consequences.

18 19


In Marseille, south of France

With Energido, a solution that recovers heat from wastewater, Veolia heats water at the famous Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille swimming pools to 27°C all year round,

saving the emission of 230 metric tons of CO2 every year.

TRANSFORMING WASTE WATER A ND OPTIMIZING

ITS TRE ATMEN T

Veolia sees wastewater not as waste but as a resource.

I t designs solutions that facilitate the spread of

renewable, decarbonized and cleaner energy

sources that are decentralized and digitalized

and protect resources. It does this through sludge

recovery, methanization and water recycling via

treating and reusing wastewater.

For example, current technologies can drive down

energy use by recovering heat from wastewater and

creating a virtuous circular economy loop.

20 21


In Ljubljana, Slovenia The Slovene capital has modernized and extended its existing wastewater

treatment plant, increasing capacity by 52% and improving the site’s energy efficiency. By 2022, the treatment plant will be fitted with advanced biological water treatment

installations and Exelys, a pre-digestion thermal treatment for sludge. Energy recovery from wastewater will make the plant energy self-sufficient.

2322

Tools such as Hubgrade — a suite of smart monitoring

solutions for combining digital and human expertise

— allow wastewater treatment plants to maximize

energy recovery by optimizing their use of energy

and chemicals, and reducing their operating costs.

In Milan, Italy In 2019, Italian public service company Metropolitana Milanese SpA turned to Hubgrade

for its Nosedo wastewater treatment and reuse plant. With 60 to 70% of final effluent reused in agriculture, Nosedo is the largest wastewater reuse plant in Europe. Hubgrade delivered energy savings that included a 20% saving in biological treatment costs in just six months

as well as a 60 to 80% reduction in the use of precipitation chemicals such as ferric chloride, with projected annual operating cost savings of around €500,000 a year.

2524


PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE AGRICULT URE

FOR TOMORROW

The demographic challenge facing our planet means we need new and more responsible farming practices

if we are to feed nine billion people in the future.

V eolia helps the process of change in farming

practices by converting municipal and

industrial sludges into composts that are

applied to the soil, and by promoting aquaculture.

As worldwide demand for quality fish continues to

grow, aquaculture seems an obvious solution, one

that also offers an alternative to the problem of

overfishing that impacts almost half the fish species we

eat. This form of farming faces a range of challenges

and Veolia, a major player in the industry via Veolia

Water Technologies, offers its technologies and

expertise in wastewater recycling to help aquaculture

become more sustainable and more respectful of

the environment.

26 27


03VEOLIA SERVING INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS

A gainst a background of globalized competition and accelerating

ecological transformation, industrial businesses do not necessarily have

the tools and skills needed to reduce both their operating costs and

their environmental footprint.

Its innovative solutions mean Veolia can support industrial companies as they

seek to optimize their environmental performance, specifically by offering them

advanced technologies to improve management and recovery of production

by-products, and by optimizing recycling of process water to cut overall water

use and protect water resources.

2928

W hether work ing in o i l and gas ,

pharmaceuticals or chemicals, today’s

industrial companies have to re-examine

their socio-economic growth models, shifting to more

sustainable solutions to help combat the climate

crisis and optimize their productivity. Given this

reality, recovering production waste is an efficient

and sustainable solution. Veolia collects these by-

products, often as sludge, and recovers them to extend

extracted resources’ lifetimes and value in use.

RECOVERING PRODUCTION

BY-PRODUCTS

30 31

03 Veolia serving industrial customers

By-products from the mining industry are a good

example. Veolia offers mine operators a unique

combination of solutions for managing and treating

process water and solid waste. It provides a major

competitive advantage thanks to its mastery of all

the treatment processes it deploys and operates.

For example, Veolia’s proprietary crystallization and

evaporation technology helps the mining industry

recover precious materials from mine tailings, reuse

and/or recycle water and reduce overall effluent

volumes. This is a technology used with copper, zinc

and lithium.

The benefits for mining industry customers are

numerous: yield optimization by recovering ores

present in tailings; improved management of water and

tailings helps secure licenses to operate; minimized

risk of disruption to production.

In GhanaIn an environment subject to highly seasonal rainfall, Veolia enables a gold mine

in Ghana operated by Anglogold Ashanti to manage its tailings overf low and meet local discharge requirements. Maintaining and improving its operations required

modernization and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, a review of operating practices and training for a dedicated local team. In this way, Veolia helped the mine

retain its license to operate.

3332


REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL

FOOTPRINT OF THE AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY

Certain practices will have to adapt to the climate crisis if the world is to feed a 9-billion population in 2040.

T he agri-food industry is the largest industry

in the world, characterized by processes

that are highly energy- and water-intensive

and the production of massive quantities of organic

and solid waste (plastic, glass, paper). The industry

faces a major two-pronged challenge in dealing with

fast-growing population growth and rising living

standards: how to meet its customers’ demands while

simultaneously preserving resources and limiting its

environmental impacts.

35


34

To help this process, Veolia provides

agri-foods businesses with a wide

range of custom solutions. Actors

in the fish-farming industry are one

example.

Although fish farming has been

practiced for thousands of years, the

domestication of marine resources

— fish, shellfish and

aquatic plants — has

expanded massively

over the past 30

years. This is one

way to preserve fish

resources that are

increasingly threatened

by overfishing: according to the Food

and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations (FAO), a third of all fish

species are overfished. Aquacultural

production could reach 109 million

metric tons in 2030, a 37% increase

on 2016.

Veolia has offered a comprehensive

wastewater treatment and recycling

solution for aquaculture in the

form of its RAS2020 Recirculating

Aquaculture System for more than

20 years. After extensive clean-up

processes, wastewater is then fed

back into the fish tanks. A biological

treatment eliminates carbon and

nitrogen pollution from the water.

As well as this technology, another

technology is used to

separate fish excreta

and uneaten food.

Extremely careful

controls of water

quality mean that

the fish produced

are in better health and more

disease resistant: they are not given

chemical or antibiotic treatments,

and all pollutants are eliminated. In

this way, Veolia helps to preserve a

great variety of fish species, deep-

water, fresh-water, tropical and

salt-water, while simultaneously

ensuring its customers receive high

quality support.

Aquacultural production could

reach 109 million metric tons in 2030, a 37%

increase on 2016.

In Norway

Veolia provides recirculation systems

for salmon farming. Fredrikstad

Seafoods, the first land-based salmon

farm in Norway, relies on advanced

aquaculture technology to guarantee

the stability of water quality parameters,

essential for ensuring that fish survive

and flourish. They are raised in a

controlled environment, without the

use of antibiotics or pesticides, in total

compliance with all health standards.

This is a sustainable, resource-efficient

and environmentally friendly method

for feeding a growing population while

also reducing pressures on fish stocks

in the wild and, therefore, protecting life

in the oceans.

3736


04INVENTING TOMORROW: CENTRAL TO EVERY VEOLIA INNOVATION

T oday, whether in emerging, recent or mature markets, the

challenges are changing and the responses needed demand

ever greater levels of technology and innovation. Veolia designs

custom solutions today so that it can tackle the challenges facing its

customers and the planet tomorrow.

3938

THE PROMISE OF AQUAPONICS

A s well as working with aquaculture, Veolia

continues to experiment with aquaponics

as part of its research into the agriculture

of tomorrow. Aquaponics is a symbiotic method for

growing plants and rearing fish by recreating an

ecosystem in fish tanks.

In Belgium, working with BIGH, a startup that leads

the field, Veolia hopes to roll out a solution centering

on a network of aquaponic urban farms and to emerge

as a key player in this new sector.

More generally, aquaculture would benefit from

adopting the principles that underpin agroecology,

starting by using natural mechanisms to prevent

certain diseases and parasites such as sea lice, which

can be a problem for fish farms.

The activities of the fish help plants (or rice) to grow in

a natural manner without added chemicals: biological

filtration provided by micro-organisms transforms the

ammonia in fish urine into nitrates, fertilizing plants

even as the urine is eliminated from the water.

41

04 Inventing tomorrow: central to every Veolia innovation

40

T o safely deal with emergency situations or

temporary needs for treating or producing

water, Veolia has designed and manufactured

a fleet of mobile multi-treatment units able to meet

any needs its customers may have. Veolia’s fleet of

Mobile Water Services trucks and trailers can deploy

rapidly to industrial sites in the event of a need during

preventive or corrective maintenance operations. The

main customer benefits are flexibility and speed of

intervention. And because Veolia can intervene on

demand, customers do not have to invest in fixed

installations, meaning that they enjoy significant

cost savings.

Mobile units also provide a second function: as

emergency back-up. Electricity company EDF has

contracted Veolia to supply this service so that it can

be certain to have a treatment installation in place

within 24 hours, if needed.

MOBILE TREATMENT UNITS:

A BOOMING M A RK ET

Modular mobile water treatment units are another promising lever for change.

42 43

04 Inventing tomorrow: central to every Veolia innovation

In Bassens, near Bordeaux, France

The Michelin factory is one of three in the world to produce synthetic rubber for tires. Two on-site demineralization units provide the constant supply of demineralized water

needed by the production process. In September 2020, Michelin needed to carry out maintenance on one of the units, so instead of compromising production it called in Veolia.

With a capacity of 100 cubic meters of demineralized water every hour, the on-site f leet of trucks quickly delivered the 600 cubic meters needed daily at the plant.

4544

05MUNICIPAL SEWAGE SLUDGEIMPACTFUL SOLUTION

4746

BACKGROUND

R apid population growth around the world,

and the urban growth this leads to, have

major impacts on the colossal quantities of

wastewater and sewage sludge that municipalities

have to deal with. According to ADEME, France’s

environment and energy management, 9 million metric

tons of sludge were produced in France in 2020.

Maximizing the use of by-products created during

wastewater treatment has become a major issue

for operators and officials in charge of managing

wastewater treatment plants.

4948

SOLU TION

T he world now needs a change of model.

To meet this challenge, Veolia has created

and designed innovative services for local

authorities and municipalities, supporting them in their

energy transition and helping to maximize extraction

of raw materials for recovery from sewage sludges.

Carbon sources found in these residues are transformed

into energy via methanization, while phosphate and

nitrogen become fertilizers that are in high demand

for agriculture.

5150

F or wastewater treatment

plants operators, transfor-

ming sewage sludge into

biogas is a powerful lever for ensu-

ring compliance with environmental

regulations. This limits emission of

greenhouse gases, dramatically

reduces environmental footprints

and the volume of residual sludge,

and helps combat the increasing

scarcity of resources. In this way,

sewage sludges can offer an al-

ternative to fossil fuels and a new

source of income, whether through

on-site use of the energy produced

or the sale of energy to the local

energy network.

Optimizing wastewater treatment

technologies is boosting the quantity

of energy produced by sewage

treatment plants. What is more, these

solutions created by Veolia mean that

today’s plants can ultimately become

carbon neutral, or very low carbon.

Sewage sludges can also be

recovered as compost that is

applied to the soil. An inexpensive

and efficient way of improving and

structuring soils, farmers spread

compost made from sewage sludges

across their fields. This type of

compost also contributes massively

to storing carbon in the soil.

T URNING SLUDGE INTO A GREEN

ENERGY SOURCEVeolia has perfected a wide range of technological

solutions for processing and recovering energy from sewage sludges.

These comprehensive solutions operate continuously or on demand, combining thermal hydrolysis with anaerobic digestion. These solutions perform

better than conventional digestion and make it possible to optimize sludge treatment by providing:

25 to 35%less dry material

30 to 50%more biogas

Noodor nuisance

A hygienic and stabilized digestate with controlled health risks that ensure suitability for recovery by agriculture

5352

05 Impactful solution

IMPACTFUL EXAMPLE

To the nor th of Sof ia, in Bulgaria, the Kubratovo

wastewater treatment p lant

occupies a 60-hectare site and

is one of the largest and most

innovative treatment plants in

the Balkans. Built 35 years ago,

it has constantly been updated

and currently treats 500,000 cubic

meters of wastewater a day from

homes and industry as well as

rainwater. Better still, the site is now

almost self-sufficient in energy after

a lengthy process of continuous

improvement.

In 2009, a new combined heat

and power system was installed

that uses biogas to produce re-

newable energy. The aim was to

optimize the plant ’s operation

and energy efficiency to reduce

its CO2 emissions. And to boost

performance even more, the CHP

system with its three cogenera-tion

units, each capable of producing

1,063 kW of electricity and 1,088

kW of heat energy, was modernized

in 2019. The updates mean all the

plant ’s installations will reach

100% energy self-sufficiency in the

coming years, making it one of the

few sites in the world to operate

entirely us-ing renewable energy

produced on-site.

Since 2009, the plant has produced

198 million kWh of renewable energy

from wastewater sludge, 92 million

cubic meters of biogas and avoided

the emission of 1,080 metric tons

of CO2 into the atmosphere.

of renewable energy.198 million kWh

Since 2009, the plant has produced

54 55


THE BARREL, A PLUG & PLAY APPROACH TO REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER TREATMENT

IMPACTFUL SOLUTION 06 5756

BACKGROUND

T he scale and number of seawater desalination

and wastewater treatment and reuse plants

is directly proportional to the demand for

drinking water. These plants need to adapt to rising

population numbers and, often, the lack of available

land, without resorting to large-scale investment.

A clear trend is emerging, with increasing numbers

of actors seeking treatment installations that are more

flexible, less complex and cheaper. The time for agility

has come.

5958

SOLU TION

T o support its municipal and industrial

customers, Veolia has created a unique

plug and play concept for reverse osmosis

water treatment: The Barrel. The pressure vessel,

manufactured off-site and then delivered as a plant’s

sole component, can house up to 200 membrane

elements depending on the water treatment required,

each fitted with a sensor.

The units have a small footprint, can be installed

indoors or outside and scaled as needed. This means

that no building is needed to house a seawater

desalination or wastewater reuse process.

And The Barrel is fully digital. Fitted with a system

that provides remote surveillance of the membranes,

it delivers the reliability and operational cost-

effectiveness that operators require. The system

lowers the investment required by 3 to 5%, and

energy use by 1.5%.

6160

IMPACTFUL EXAMPLE

Vendée Eau, a public service water authority in western France, chose The Barrel for its wastewater reuse demonstrator at

Sables-d’Olonne on the Atlantic coast, an area where

9 in every 10 liters of drinking water are produced

from surface water, making it highly susceptible to

the impact of the climate crisis.

With its Jourdain program, Vendée Eau is trialing a

solution unlike anything other in Europe: replenishing

surface water resources with treated wastewater

discharged from the Sables-d’Olonne treatment

plant. The water is treated in a refining plant then

channeled to a planted transition zone before being

released behind the Jaunay dam. It then mixes with

river water prior to a final treatment stage at the

drinking water production plant.

The Barrel is a key component of the refining plant:

its modularity and technical sophistication meet

Vendée Eau’s requirements for the production of

very high quality water. Once built and tested, the

refining plant should reach full capacity in 2026.

62 63


V EOL I A CA N CA L L ON A PORT FOL IO OF

OVER

350 SEPARATE PROPRIETARY

TECHNOLOGIES (physicochemical, biological, membrane and bio-membrane treatments, thermal

and hybrid desalination, etc.)

KEY ACTIVIT Y DATA

TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ALL FORMS

OF WATER (drinking water, industrial water, ultra-pure water,

wastewater, seawater)

2,737WA ST E WAT ER T RE ATMEN T

PL AN TS MANAGED

3,362 DRIN K ING WAT ER

PL AN TS MANAGED

6564

Veolia Communications Department October 2021

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VeoliaCommunications Department

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